Even if Harrison doesn’t qualify for the 3A playoffs when the official bracket is released Sunday, the Panthers already made history Friday in a rare victory over Lewis-Palmer.

Ninth-year Panthers coach Al Melo doesn’t remember the last time because it was before he joined the staff. It might have been 2003, Harrison’s last playoff entry.

None of the previous five meetings with LP were close: 58-32 in 2014, 38-12 the year before, 54-19 in 2012, 48-12 back in 2005 and 45-18 in 2004.

Things turned out much differently on Friday.

Harrison rallied from a 14-0 hole, scored 36 unanswered points and throttled the No. 9-ranked Rangers to end the regular season 7-3. Now, the Panthers, ranked No. 19 heading into the evening, await Sunday’s football committee meeting that’ll rank the top 16 for the postseason.

“I hope we get in,” Melo said. “Once you get in, everyone has a chance. But we’ve been 7-3 before and not gotten in. It’s all up to the committee now. Hopefully, we’ve given them something to think about.”

In 2011, Harrison had the same mark, lost only to Vista Ridge and Widefield (both went 9-1 in regular season) and Palmer Ridge (a 4A school at the time) and still fell short.

This season, Harrison suffered a nonleague loss to Aurora Central, an 8-2 team headed to the 4A playoffs, to go with league setbacks to Discovery Canyon, the league champ, along with 4-6 Canon City.

For this season’s senior class, it’s light years from their freshman season, when the Panthers went 1-9. It didn’t get too much better in 2013 after a 2-8 campaign.

The turnaround started last season. The Panthers went 4-6. All the potential was there for a breakthrough year in 2015.

Well, it happened. But will anyone notice?

“We only have 12 seniors, and they battled,” Melo said. “They persevered through hard times, and those kids have a special place in my heart. They sold out in the summer, through morning workouts, in January. They had a great senior year. I hope the committee looks at who we played and who we lost to.

“I think these guys deserve at least one more game.”